Hélène Morbu
"What I am looking for is a balance, a language of my own."
Hélène Morbu is a ceramist based in Nantes, France. In 2005 she graduated with a National diploma of plastic arts from Beaux-Arts in Reims and in 2007 she was awarded BTEC in ceramic arts from the National School of Applied Arts and Crafts, Paris.
A ceramicist since 2008, Hélène creates pure and graphic forms that are inspired by a range of sources and inspiration, from ancient cities and the clean lines of art deco architecture to the observation of the plant and mineral world. In working the surface of each form, she transforms the appearance of the clay into another material so that the viewer's first impression is that the artwork has been constructed with another material such as textiles, lace or basketry.
Hélène is able to achieve this impression by sculpting and decorating her ceramic creations with her own specially designed tools which are each made in accordance to the type of texture she hopes to achieve. Designing a variety of scrapers, shapers, combs and needles, and developing personalised techniques with each, Morbu creates intriguing artworks and textures that are highly original. The development and research in her surface techniques, together with the testing of colours, glazes and the types of clay used, are all specifically refined and combined for each creation. This has led creating a rich vocabulary of forms that are each distinctively unique.
Hélène's work has been shown at acclaimed exhibitions in France, Germany and Tokyo and was recognised in 2019 by Ateliers d'Art de France by receiving the "The Creator" prize, and the public prize at the Céramique 14 Show.
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Fired & Refracted
9 - 25 Oct 2025Presenting Fired & Refracted, a two person focus exhibition featuring the intricate ceramics of Hélène Morbu alongside the luminous glass art of Hildegard Pax. These artists transform traditional materials - clay and glass - with textures and colours that seem to shift, reshape, and come alive in response to light.
